A quick glance at this morning’s Chattanooga Times Free Press shows prominent play provided for a gubernatorial forum hosted by the paper on Monday night. Not benefiting from any of the free media: U.S. Rep. Diane Black (R-Gallatin), who has made a point of attending as few of these gubernatorial confabs as possible.

The Black campaign has said since nearly the beginning of the race that the candidate isn’t interested in attending events in which she has to share the stage with Democrats. That’d be understandable if she was a constant target. But that’s not been the case so far.

A radio ad unveiled today by state Rep. Jimmy Matlock’s campaign notes his leading opponent in the Republican 2nd Congressional District primary, Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett, voted as a state senator for the election of a Democrat as speaker of the Tennessee Senate and questions whether he would vote for Democrat Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the U.S. House. Here’s the Matlock campaign press release plus a note on the referenced vote.

Five candidates for governor – Republicans Randy Boyd, Beth Harwell and Bill Lee along with Democrats Karl Dean and Craig Fitzhugh – praised a U.S. Supreme Court decision last week that means Tennessee can now require out-of-state online retailers to collect sales taxes on purchases made by their Tennessee, reports the Times Free Press.

Their comments came at a gubernatorial candidate forum hosted by the newspaper Monday in Chattanooga. One major GOP candidate, Diane Black, was campaigning in Carter County Monday and did not participate.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (June 25, 2018) — Today, the Karl Dean for Governor campaign released its third TV spot that will air in all major media markets across Tennessee.

The ad titled “Forgotten Tennessee” highlights what Karl has consistently heard from Tennesseans. While some parts of Tennessee are thriving, there are parts of Tennessee that are struggling and that is where Dean will focus his efforts as governor.

U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais has turned down a debate challenge from Republican challenger Jack Maddux in the 4th Congressional District on grounds he has voted for Hillary Clinton and is thus not a credible candidate, reports the Cleveland Daily Banner. Maddux acknowledges he did so, but says that was at the request of radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh.

Democratic Senate candidate Phil Bredesen is taking aim at Trump administration trade policies in a new ad, while also declaring that he’s “fine” with the president’s outreach to North Korea. The former governor says that’s in keeping with his pledge to agree with the president when his initiatives benefit Tennesseans, while opposing them when they don’t.

The Bredesen campaign also released a 60-second video featuring the former governor speaking with the owners of Nashville-based Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery about how a trade war could hurt small businesses. The distillery was also the site of a visit in October 2016 by then-U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman as the Obama administration was making a final push for the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The TPP was later abandoned by Trump.

In a “spirited and at times heated debate,” House Government Operations Chairman Jeremy Faison was criticized on several matters by Greg Fodness, who is challenging him in in the House District 11 Republican primary, reports the Newport Plain Talk. One hot topic was Faison’s advocacy of legalizing medical marijuana in recent legislative sessions.